3 Ways To Avoid Developing A Drinking Problem

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3 Ways To Avoid Developing A Drinking Problem

While most people can handle having the occasional alcoholic drink, there are some who take their drinking a little too far or a little too heavily. When this happens, many begin setting themselves on a path toward developing a drinking problem. And although some people can drink without ever becoming an alcoholic, there are others who seem to get addicted after only a very short time. So to help all those out there who are concerned about the possibility of becoming dependent on alcohol, here are three ways you can avoid developing a drinking problem.

Pace Yourself

When you’re trying to not drink too much, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recommends doing what you can to pace yourself. During a night out, or even just a night in, you should try to pace the amount of drinking you do. To do this, you can either drink very slowly or space other things in between your drinks. For example, you can choose to have every other drink be non-alcoholic or you can eat something in between each drink you get. By finding a way to pace yourself, you can help yourself avoid a lot of the problems that are often brought on by a night of drinking too much too soon.

Keep A Drinking Journal

If you’re worried that you may be drinking too much on a weekly or monthly basis, one way you can try to keep track of this is by maintaining a drinking journal. HelpGuide.org writes that by keeping a diary or journal regarding when you drink, what you’re drinking, and what caused you to drink, you may be able to recognize patterns in your drinking and find ways to minimize things that may be triggers for you. Especially if you haven’t kept track of your drinking before, you may be surprised to see how often you’re drinking during a week or month.

Set Realistic Goals and Limits

Once you have a good idea of how much you’re currently drinking and how much you probably should be drinking, it’s now time for you to set some goal or limits to how much you’ll allow yourself to drink. According to Harvard Health, women and those over 65 years old should only have one standard drink per day and men should only have two. If this would be vastly different from what you’re currently doing, just try to set realistic goals for how to limit your drinking so you can eventually get to a healthy amount.

If you want to learn how you can alter your current habits to help you avoid developing a drinking problem, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you do just that.